St Patrick’s Day - Security plans ensure feast of celebration

NOT even the arctic weather conditions, or memories of last year’s violence, could deter the hundreds of thousands of people who turned out for parades up and down the country yesterday, joining millions around the globe in celebration of St Patrick’s Day.

Thankfully, there was no repeat of the troubles which marred festivities a year ago when drunken louts turned Ireland’s national feast day into a shameful spectacle of violence.

In a pointed reminder of St Patrick’s Christian heritage, Archbishop Seán Brady, the Catholic Primate, stressed the importance of remembering his burning faith and the religious dimension of the celebrations.

Underlining the importance of the feast day in uniting Irish people everywhere, the Archbishop stressed that the national saint had become a symbol of Irish history and heritage. In his view, reducing St Patrick to a spectacle without referring to his Christian faith amounted to a distortion of the truth.

Reflecting an Ireland described by President Mary McAleese as “vibrant, cosmopolitan and filled with energy,” people everywhere became Irish for the day In line with the President’s succinct reminder that international relations now play a key part in our maturing as a nation, countless millions of people watched pageants, festivals and parades, from the tiny village of Coppeen in West Cork to the streets of Waterford, Limerick, Cork, Kilkenny, Dublin, Galway, Belfast, Sydney, Singapore and New York.

As normally elusive leprechauns appeared overnight and step dancers took to the streets, it was a family day that everybody could enjoy.

Following Cork’s year as European Capital of Culture, sport was the hallmark of the city’s parade where world gold medal winner Derval O’Rourke and the All-Ireland camogie champions headed the march.

Significantly, the cultural and religious divide was peacefully bridged in the North where nationalist and unionist political parties backed Belfast’s first ever official parade on St Patrick’s Day.

In Dublin, where 400,000 spectators turned out, the well-publicised and highly visible garda presence had the desired effect of deterring would-be trouble makers. As a result, the parade passed off quietly with no sign of last year’s disgraceful scenes when 750 people were arrested by gardaí on public order offences.

For a welcome change yesterday, sensible drinking was the order of the day.

This welcome change comes hot on the heels of this week’s damning report showing the vast majority of Irish people believe that as a nation we drink too much.

Setting the scene for public events in the future, off-licences in Dublin had been urged not to open for business before 4pm, long after the crowds of perished sightseers and tourists had departed. Similarly, pub owners were asked to ensure customers did not take alcohol on to the streets.

If that approach had been adopted for last month’s Love Ulster parade, rioting might well have been averted on O’Connell Street, where rubble and paving slabs were thrown at gardaí.

Proper advance planning involving the gardaí, the festival committee, city council and other agencies made all the difference yesterday. Strategically placed CCTV cameras gave gardaí a commanding overview of the festivities.

Underlining the importance of a visible garda presence, it was particularly encouraging to note that security measures to rule out disorder on the streets did not take one whit from yesterday’s joyous celebrations of St Patrick’s Day.